Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
Track: Dover International Speedway
Race: Drydene 200
Date: May 15, 2021
No. 22 CarShop Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
Start: 16th
Stage 1: 8th
Stage 2: 3rd
Finish: 1st – Third Victory of 2021 Season
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 200/200
Laps Led: 51
Driver Point Standings (ahead of second): 1st (+62)
Notes:
- Austin Cindric took the lead with 51 laps to go and never looked back, crossing the finish line 3.79 seconds ahead of Josh Berry. Cindric won his third race of the 2021 season and claimed his first victory in eight races at Dover International Speedway. The driver of the CarShop Ford gave Team Penske its fifth win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Dover. He remains the leader in the series driver standings, stretching his lead to 62 points ahead of Daniel Hemric.
- Cindric started 16th and steadily worked his way to the front during Stage 1. He was up to ninth position at the time of the competition caution on lap 20. Cindric was running seventh when he had a close call racing Ty Gibbs for seventh position on lap 44. The No. 22 Ford Mustang slipped sideways off Turn 4 but Cindric made an impressive save to claim an eighth-place finish when the segment concluded one lap later. Crew chief Brian Wilson made the call to pit for four tires during the stage caution on lap 49 and Cindric restarted 10th on lap 54.
- The second stage of the race was hampered by three cautions and one brief red flag for track cleanup. Once again Cindric methodically worked his way through traffic, climbing up to third-place when Stage 2 concluded on lap 90. Cindric pitted during the stage caution, getting four tires, and lining up sixth when the race went green on lap 96. During the next run, Cindric said the No. 22 CarShop Ford was just a little bit free. The seventh and final caution on lap 140 set up a round of stops one lap later. Wilson made the call for an air pressure adjustment in the right-side tires. Nice work by the CarShop crew put Cindric third for the restart on lap 144. Two laps later he passed Josh Berry for second position and on lap 150 he took the lead from Justin Allgaier and never looked back. .
Quote: “We just kept at it the whole time. We made the right adjustments on pit stops and I feel like I have learned a lot about this race track, enough to get the Car Shop Ford Mustang into victory lane.
We have had a Dover race twice on the Xfinity schedule since I started racing Xfinity and we took one off the schedule and I really wanted to win here so bad. I had to not let that desire cloud my judgment today because I knew we had a tough task ahead of us. To get the opportunity on the restart and showcase our car in clean air means the world to me.
